After a detailed analysis of the difficulties on the Italian
construction materials market, where cement consumption has dropped to the levels of the early 1970s, the Italcementi Group has drawn up a plan for the reorganization of its production network.

The plan is intended to rationalize the overall industrial structure, enabling Italcementi to deal more efficiently with the current economic situation and simultaneously put in place an effective new production and distribution system capable of absorbing future expected demand as the Italian market recovers.

For this, after a detailed efficiency analysis of each factory, the Group has taken a series of steps as a result of which an agreement has been reached for the sale of the Pontassieve plant (acquired by the Colacem Group) and two full-cycle production plants will be closed by the end of the third quarter. The sale of the Pontassieve facility, a plant territorially on the periphery of the Italcementi production network, will take place on completion of the required procedures by the end of June.

In addition to these steps, by the end of the year the Group could introduce other efficiency-raising measures in its production organization to adapt its industrial operations to the new conditions on the market.